Police aerial survey to track fleeing Maoists

An aerial survey has been carried out in parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal to find out the routes the injured Maoists might have taken to escape following their encounter with security forces in Dumka district, police said.

The aerial survey was carried out on Tuesday, two days after a zonal commander of CPI (Maoists), Tala da alias Sahdeo Rai, was killed in the encounter at Chatpura under the jurisdiction of Shikaripara police station in the Maoist-affected district, the police said.

Tala da was carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, a police officer said.

Dumka Superintendent of Police Y S Ramesh said he along with DIG (Santal Paragana) Raj Kumar Lakra and DIG (SSB) Somit Joshi, took the aerial Survey on Tuesday to locate the Naxals, who managed to escape, even after suffering bullet injuries during the encounter on Sunday.

All possible escape routes, drains and small huts were marked, Ramesh told reporters at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Administrations of the adjoining districts such as Godda and Pakur in Jharkhand, and Birbhum district in West Bengal, have been alerted, he said.

They have also been told that the injured Maoists might consult doctors or get treated in hospitals under their jurisdiction secretly, the SP added.

Ramesh appealed to the Maoists to surrender and join the  mainstream of the society or face a similar fate as Tala da.